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BILLINGS, Mont. – The Montana State Billings men's and women's tennis teams swept their Rocky Mountain Conference openers Friday at the MSUB Tennis Bubble. The Yellowjacket men's team downed Colorado State-Pueblo 7-2, while the women avenged an early season loss to the Thunderwolves with a 5-4 win Friday.
“The Yellowjacket men's team came together and competed strongly to beat a very good CSUP team today,” MSUB head coach Lew Kosich said. “Our women's team used hard work and diligent practice in their defeat of CSUP. This is a turnaround of their earlier loss to the Thunderwolves. Maria Peterson and Kayla Rochin turned their previous three set losses into sold two set victories Friday.”
The Yellowjacket men came out of the gates pumped up for the match. The Jackets, led by sophomore Navin Marimuthu and freshman Kavindu Gamage, defeated Ivan Aragona and Tom Chavez 8-2 at No. 1 doubles for an early 1-0 lead.
The Thunderwolves batted back to even the match at 1-1 as the duo of Bruno Hurtado and Saul Shrom downed Brad Knutsen and Geoff Fehr, 8-5. MSUB ended doubles with the lead as Thomas Staffileno and Alonso Leon edged Anthony Brietenbach and Mateus Vasconcelos, 8-6 for a 2-1 lead.
Marimuthu continued his dominance at No. 1 singles with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Hurtado as MSUB won the top three singles matches in straight sets by Leon (No. 2) and Gamage (No. 3). CSUP won at No. 4, but wins at Nos. 5 and 6 by Staffileno and Knutsen helped secure the win.
With the win, the Jackets improved to 1-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and 5-5 overall. MSUB will host Nebraska-Kearney tomorrow to complete the home stand.
On the women's side, the Jackets needed all six singles matches to pull off a hard-fought 5-4 win over the Thunderwolves. Doubles duo of Maria Peterson and Johnna Beatty won convincingly at No. 2 doubles 8-2, but the Jackets were down 2-1 heading into singles play.
Strong, straight-set performances by senior Rikki Peach, Peterson and Kayla Rochin helped the Jackets battle back to earn the win. MSUB improved to 6-6 on the year and 1-0 in conference play.
MSUB 7, Colorado State-Pueblo 2 (Men)
Doubles
1. Marimuthu/Gamage (MSUB) def. Aragona/Chavez (CSUP) 8-2
2. Hurtado/Shrom (CSUP) def. Knutsen/Fehr (MSUB) 8-5
3. Staffileno/Leon (MSUB) def. Breitenbach/Vasconcelos (CSUP) 8-6
Singles
1. Navin Marimuthu (MSUB) def. Bruno Hurtado (CSUP) 6-2, 6-3
2. Alonso Leon (MSUB) def. Ivan Aragona (CSUP) 6-2, 6-0
3. Kavindu Gamage (MSUB) def. Anthony Brietenbach (CSUP) 6-4, 6-0
4. Saul Shrom (CSUP) def. Delbert Landicho (MSUB) 3-6, 6-4, 1-0(7)
5. Brad Knutsen (MSUB) def. Tom Chavez (CSUP) 6-2, 4-6, 1-0(6)
6. Thomas Staffileno (MSUB) def. Mateus Vasconcelos (CSUP) 6-2, 6 -3
MSUB 5, Colorado State-Pueblo 4
Doubles
1. Forsyth/Ortiz (CSUP) def. Karlsson/Peach (MSUB) 9-7
2. Peterson/Beatty (MSUB) def. Pilot/Boughton (CSUP) 8-2
3. Manes/Hart (CSUP) def. Rutz/Rochin (MSUB) 8-2
Singles
1. Mrgan Forsyth (CSUP) def. Kim Karlsson (MSUB) 6-3, 6-3
2. Rikki Peach (MSUB) def. Nicole Pilot (CSUP) 6-2, 6-1
3. Johnna Beatty (MSUB) def. Andrea Ortiz (CSUP) 7-5, 6-2
4. Maria Peterson (MSUB) def. Kellie Manes (CSUP) 6-2, 6-1
5. Cindy Boughton (CSUP) def. Libby Rutz (MSUB) 6-2, 7-5
6. Kayla Rochin (MSUB) def. Ciera Frankmore (CSUP) 6-2, 6-1
